Local girls honored by Hardy Girls Healthy Women

FALMOUTH — Haley Stark, a junior at Falmouth High School, has received the Against the Odds award from Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

She is one of six girls across Maine that will be honored at the annual Girls Rock! awards ceremony being held March 22 at Waynflete on Portland’s West End.

“The Girls Rock! awards were created to amplify the voices of girls around the state, and each year we celebrate their powerful stories,” said Kelli McCannell, executive director of Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

McCannell said each of the winners was nominated by her community for outstanding achievements.

In addition to Stark, Hannah Leary, 12, of Harpswell, also received an award from Hardy Girls Healthy Women. She was honored for her entrepreneurship in creating baskets out of lobster trap rope. Her goal is to sell enough baskets to buy a horse.

Stark suffered a spinal cord stroke when she was 12 years old. She’s slowly regained some use of her right side and today she can walk with only a slight limp. She was nominated for the Against the Odds award for her advocacy of disability rights, including the right not to be questioned for using the school elevator.

Stark has also written a book called “Tying the Ribbon: How I survived a spinal cord stroke – and my life afterward.” It’s available on Amazon.com for $18 and 25 percent of book sales goes toward the United Spinal Association.

Haley Stark, a junior at Falmouth High School, is being honored by Hardy Girls Healthy Women for her advocacy around the issue of disability rights.